


come on, relax

by calebwidogast



Series: perc'ildan drabbles [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, can you tell i wrote this in like 20 minutes or less, if you havent watched at least up to the bards lament, spoilers obviously, then you should probably go catch up before you read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 14:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11991984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calebwidogast/pseuds/calebwidogast
Summary: vax's midnight anxiety stroll is interrupted





	come on, relax

vax’ildan found himself pacing the halls of whitestone castle. his mind was buzzing with anxieties about the future, his place in vox machina, his sister’s wellbeing, his status as champion of the raven queen, scanlan’s departure… the list was extensive.

one thing that did calm his nerves every time he remembered it, though, was the fact that his and percy’s relationship had really recovered. after the feywild, after percy’s death at ripley’s hands, after multiple deaths and the defeat of thordak and the rest of the conclave, at least he had this. they were back in each other’s good graces- better than before, even. approaching something new for them.

so his thoughts bounced between scanlan, vex, the raven queen, percy, and back around to scanlan again. he walked silently, even as distracted and nervous as he was.  without realizing it, he found himself standing on the balcony that hotis had stabbed him on.

taking a quiet, shaky breath as he remembered it, he took several large steps backward, until he was inside. he let out a deep sigh and turned to see percy at one end of the hall, looking up at him, startled. “oh, for- gods, vax, could you be any creepier?”

vax gave him the best grin he could conjure up. “i can certainly try.”

percy stopped in front of him. vax watched his eyes flit from him, to the door to the balcony, back to him again. “are you alright? it is quite late.”

“i’m lovely. i can’t help but notice you’re also on a midnight stroll, so there’s no room for you to talk.” vax said, straightening up so he wasn’t touching the wall. he was still a ways shorter than percy.

“wakes the brain up. i guess you must not do it too often?” percy said, a smirk growing on his face.

vax snorted. “that’s cold, freddie. you on your way to the workshop, then?”

“i’d considered it. do you normally creep around my castle at nearly 3 in the morning?” he asked seriously.

hesitating only a moment, vax said, “oh, all the time. i’m quite good at stealth, you know.”

percy said, “you might be, but you’re not as good at lying. what’s on your mind?”

vax closed his eyes. “i think you’d die of old age before you heard the whole list.” he opened them again and found percy glancing at him, his gaze soft and a little worried, even.

reaching out a hand, percy placed it on vax’s shoulder. “let’s start with getting you away from this particular balcony, shall we?” he walked with him, steering him down the hall, back toward where he’d come from. letting go of vax’s shoulder, he fell into step beside him.

the two walked slowly, percy’s feet tapping quietly against the hard floor. after a very long while of just walking, he said, “shall i make a guess?”

“you get three tries, and you can’t guess rakshasa.” vax said.

“damn, alright. let’s see… vex, scanlan, or something about self-confidence.”

that stung. “three out of three. impressive.” vax looked forward, avoiding percy’s gaze.

“and so you’re too high-strung to sleep right now?” percy guessed again.

“you got it. and i was going to walk around until i tired myself out, but i was rudely interrupted.” vax said.

percy turned down a hall, and vax followed. “we’re still walking. change of plans, though- i’ve decided we’re stopping by my room.”

“and why is that?”

“you clearly need to relax, and pacing around isn’t the way to do that.” percy told him as they approached their rooms.

passing the doors of his friends, percy opened his own and walked in first. vax trailed behind. he closed the door lightly behind him, and made to lock it before he remembered this was not his room. “so what’s your plan here, freddie?”

for the first time tonight, percy looked a little bashful. “well, keyleth lets me braid her hair when she’s anxious sometimes, and it seems to help.”

vax couldn’t help but smile, though it was more due to confusion than anything. “...if you say so.” he sat at the edge of percival’s unmade bed. the best he could hope for was that percy didn’t tangle his hair even more than it already was.

percy settled behind him, and removed vax’s hair from its loose ponytail. “i unfortunately don’t have a comb, so we’re going to have to make due here, i think.” vax felt percy’s fingers begin to unknot the long hair where it had tangled.

the two sat in silence as vax practically melted, surprised by how well percival seemed to be doing. he brushed his hands through the hair after he’d untangled every knot he’d found, and began sectioning it off into three. “before keyleth, i hadn’t done this in forever, but i’ve been recovering my skill at it recently.”

“you knew how to braid hair before?” vax asked, his voice soft, but interested.

“vax, i was one of seven siblings. that’s something you learn along the way.” percy replied.

“ah… alright, that’s fair. maybe it won’t be as awful as i was picturing.” vax said, unsure as always when percy brought up his family.

“you know, now that i’ve proved my worth at this, i’d better…” he freed the hair from the braid he was working on, and brushed it all straight again. “let’s give this another shot.”

vax laughed. “i’ll be docking points for that.”

“i’m sure you will be.” percy said.

the two fell into silence again, percy tying together what felt like a loose but put-together braid.

“i think i’m finished.” percy finally said. vax reached a hand back and touched his hair. the braid was loose, but it hadn’t become messy. he was a bit impressed. 

“not bad at all. i’ll say… 8 of 10, i think?” vax decided, scooting to the side and leaning back to lay across the bed, his feet still dangling off the edge.

percy fell back on an elbow next to him. he looked at vax for a moment and said, “i think i deserved at least a 9, but i’ll take it.” then he leaned all the way back, his feet off the edge as well, his shoulder touching vax’s. “feeling any better?”

“a bit.” vax admitted. “not sure it was the braid, though.”

“oh, you’ve got to be joking. i thought you fell asleep for a minute there when i was brushing your hair out.”

“never. always wide awake.” vax said, punctuating the statement with a yawn, which made percy chuckle.

“it certainly tired me out.” percy said. he yawned, too, and vax looked over to see his eyes close.

vax thought for a moment, then took percy’s hand in his own. “i appreciate it.”

percy let out a quiet, surprised laugh. “i must have done a damn good job.”

vax shrugged. “shove over, i’m nearly falling off.”

percy sat up and let vax crawl up to the same place he’d sat when percy had rested, exhausted, the day he’d been brought back to life. this time, though, he flopped down on the bed. “i really am tired, though, and it’s your fault.”

“sleep isn’t a bad thing, vax. even if you haven’t been out pacing the castle, i can see the bags under your eyes.”

“oh, says you. you were on your way to your workshop when you bumped into me.” vax snorted, his face buried in one of percy’s pillows.

“so maybe tonight’s been good for the both of us.” percy said, pulling up the blanket from where it had been kicked to the end of the bed. he settled beside vax, throwing the blanket over both of them.

“this is pretty alright.” vax agreed. “i dunno what exactly it is, but i’m enjoying it.”

percy leaned over and blew out the lamp on his bedside table. “certainly an improvement from before.”

“and an improvement from before the before.” vax said, turning on his side and touching his nose to percy’s shoulder.

percy hummed in agreement, and the two fell into an easy, comfortable silence as they dozed off.

vax woke hours later, halfway laying on percy’s chest, and arm draped over to the side. percy’s arm was around him. sleepily, he decided he’d allow himself a few more moments of peace, and drifted off again, a tired smile on his face.


End file.
